New SoCal member with a Suburban

New old guy here. After a really bad experience with a 77 Suburban and an even worse time with a Dodge minivan, I spotted a white Suburban languishing on a lemon lot. I only passed that way when they were closed or I was working, but finally went to look at it on a day off.

It had been a auction buy and sat for several months at this lot. We were terribly upside down on the minivan, but it had to go and we needed more seats. Guy gave us a great deal and the best buying experience from a lot yet, and I drove home my new-to-me 1999 Suburban LS with the 5.7 and towing package. It's the first 2wd truck I've ever owned. I still had my old Jeep CJ7, so the wife drove it most of the time until recently when a move to Cali forced me to sell my Jeep and buy the wife a Saturn coupe.

We've had the truck for about 3 years now and she will finally be paid for with this year's tax return! (transferred the remainder of the van loan to the truck)

She's been about the most reliable rig I've ever owned. Not had to do a single thing aside from new tires, oil changes and a fan belt. I now need to replace some front suspension/steering joints and fix the ac. Aside form that, heck, I get 17 mpg at 80 and well over 20 at 65mph and she carries all five kids and all their crap!

I have plans for her, oh yes. The striping is peeling off and the paint needs refreshed and years worth of door dings need to be bumped out, but she still cleans up nice. When I do the steering joints, I want to look for either some SS454 parts or find some performance upgrades for the suspension. I dropped in a K&N filter already, but am still trying to determine if a CARB certified intake tube is worth while. A custom exhaust (I want rear-exit dual tubes) and a chip or programmer are on the wish-list, along with nicer rims (like a Torque-Thrust style 5 spoke) and hot-rod sized 50 series or so tires for that old-school look and to accentuate the stock raked look. I'd love to repaint her black, but may just find a black Tahoe and rock that too.

Edit: Got a crappy cell pic for now. I'll get some better shots with the real camera and toss them up later.

Okay I'm visualizing............visualizing,..........visualizing,..........okay got it. That is an awesome looking truck, keep up the great work. J/K would love to see real pictures of it, because my mind is having it lifted with bogger tires and an awesome two tone paint job! :sign0011:

Just a tip for the exhaust... If you are still doing a lot of family hauling with her I'd hold off or get something mild. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my exaust but 90% of the time I'm by myself but if I was always carting around a family I'm not sure I'd like it as much.

Just a tip for ya, but glad you've put a lot of love into her and it sounds like a great project!!!